Heinz: what the research says about ketchup, beans, juice and vinegar

We found no study of Heinz products themselves, so this page covers the foods people look the brand up for: ketchup and tomato paste, baked beans, tomato juice and apple cider vinegar. The best tomato evidence is small. In a randomized crossover of 19 adults, 2.5 oz (70 g) of tomato paste a day for 14 days raised flow-mediated dilation, a blood vessel measure, by 3.3 points while it fell by 0.5 in the control period. That is a surrogate marker in a small group, and the food was paste, which is a long way from a squeeze of ketchup. In 30 men aged 50 to 70, a week of 7.1 oz (200 g) of tomato paste a day raised blood lycopene and left lipids, antioxidant status and PSA unchanged. The firmer numbers are about salt. A 17 g tablespoon of generic US ketchup carries about 158 mg sodium, and the reduced-sodium version 3.4 mg.

The numbers, per 3.5 oz (100 g)

How much is actually in it

• In the USDA survey database, a 17 g tablespoon of regular ketchup carries about 18.5 calories, 3.7 g sugars and 158 mg sodium, while reduced-sodium ketchup carries 3.4 mg sodium. — US dietary survey foods Ketchup (74401010) and Ketchup, reduced sodium (74401110) Evidence E source
  1 tbsp 17 g: 18.5 vs 17.2 calories; sugars 3.7 vs 3.6 g; sodium 157.8 vs 3.4 mg
• In the USDA survey database, a 260 g cup of baked beans carries about 1017 mg sodium, versus 702 mg for the reduced-sodium version. — US dietary survey foods Baked beans (41201010) and variants Evidence E source
  1 cup 260 g sodium: baked beans 1016.6 mg; vegetarian 891.8 mg; reduced sodium 702.0 mg
• USDA survey data put regular tomato juice at 236 mg sodium per 3.5 oz (100 g), about 585 mg in a 248 g glass, versus 58 mg per 3.5 oz (100 g) for low-sodium tomato juice. — US dietary survey foods Tomato juice, 100% (74301100) and low sodium (74301150) Evidence E source
  Sodium 236 vs 58 mg/100 g; 8.7 oz (248 g) serving 585.3 vs 143.8 mg

What your body absorbs

• In a randomized crossover of 10 healthy adults, adding 500 mg calcium carbonate to a tomato paste meal cut lycopene bioavailability by 83%. — 10 healthy adults, single test meal with 19 mg lycopene from tomato paste, with or without 500 mg calcium (n = 10) Evidence B source
  Lycopene bioavailability reduced by 83% with calcium

What cooking and storage change

• In a controlled trial of 33 adults eating canned tomatoes daily for 4 days, stronger homogenization raised the lycopene response in blood, from 54.9 to 88.7 nmol h/L. — 33 healthy men and women, about 22 mg/day lycopene from canned tomatoes for 4 days (n = 33) Evidence C source
  Triglyceride-rich lipoprotein lycopene AUC 54.9, 72.0 and 88.7 nmol h/L for none, mild and severe homogenization (P<0.05)

What it does to your health

• In a randomized crossover of 19 adults, 2.5 oz (70 g) of tomato paste a day for 14 days raised flow-mediated dilation by 3.3 points while it fell by 0.5 in the control period. — 19 volunteers, mean age 39, 70 g tomato paste (33.3 mg lycopene) daily for 14 days (n = 19) Evidence B source
  FMD +3.3% +/- 1.4% vs -0.5% +/- 0.6% (P=0.03), absolute FMD
• In 30 men aged 50-70, a week of 7.1 oz (200 g) tomato paste a day raised blood lycopene but did not change lipids, antioxidant status or PSA. — 30 healthy men aged 50-70, red or yellow tomato paste 200 g/day for 1 week (n = 30) Evidence B source
  Circulating lycopene rose only with red paste; lipid profile, antioxidant status, PSA and IGF-I unchanged

Safety, limits and interactions

• Across three trials where adults ate half a cup of beans daily for 8-12 weeks, under 50% reported more flatulence from pinto or baked beans in the first week, versus 3-11% on control diets. — Adults in 3 feeding trials, 1/2 cup beans daily for 8-12 weeks (29 in the baked bean crossover) (n = 126) Evidence B source
  <50% reported increased flatulence in week 1 with pinto or baked beans; 19% with black-eyed peas; 3-11% on control diets

What people believe that the data does not support

• In a small randomized crossover trial, a week of daily apple cider vinegar did not change 24-hour urine citrate, pH or volume, unlike coconut water and lemon water. — 20 non-stone formers, 6 of whom drank apple cider vinegar daily for 1 week (n = 20) Evidence B source
  ACV no significant change; coconut water +273.8 mg/24 h citrate (95% CI 67.9-480); lemon water +167.7 mg/24 h (16-319)
• The EU refused the claim that apple cider vinegar helps control and normalize body weight, and no apple cider vinegar claim is authorized. — EU register of nutrition and health claims, snapshot 2026-09-21 Evidence E source
  Status Non-authorized; 0 authorized of 4 apple cider vinegar claims

Who this works differently for

• A case series describes 7 children with widespread dermatitis linked to balsam of Peru chemicals whose skin cleared 60-80% on a diet low in ketchup. — 7 children with recalcitrant widespread allergic contact dermatitis (n = 7) Evidence D source
  60-80% clearance after a diet low in balsam of Peru, specifically ketchup

The bottom line

All the composition figures here are generic USDA survey foods recalculated from 100 g, and Heinz recipes differ by product and country. A tablespoon of regular ketchup gives about 18.5 calories and 3.7 g sugars, and the reduced-sodium one 17.2 calories and 3.6 g. The dataset has no sugar-free ketchup, and we found no study of sweeteners in ketchup. A 260 g cup of baked beans carries about 1017 mg sodium, the vegetarian version 892 mg and the reduced-sodium one 702 mg. Regular tomato juice has 236 mg sodium per 3.5 oz (100 g), about 585 mg in a 248 g glass, against 58 mg per 3.5 oz (100 g) and about 144 mg a glass for low-sodium juice. How the tomato is handled changes what reaches the blood. In a nonrandomized controlled trial of 33 adults eating canned tomatoes daily for 4 days, stronger homogenization raised the lycopene response from 54.9 to 72.0 to 88.7 nmol h/L. In 10 healthy adults, adding a 500 mg calcium carbonate supplement to a tomato paste meal cut lycopene bioavailability by 83%, in a single-dose test. Apple cider vinegar has no authorized health claim in the EU. The EU refused the claim that it helps control body weight, which means the evidence was judged insufficient. In a one-week crossover in people without kidney stones, the 6 who drank the vinegar showed no significant change in urine citrate, pH or volume, while coconut water raised citrate by 273.8 mg a day (95% CI 67.9 to 480). We found no meta-analysis of vinegar and blood sugar. Beans cause wind for many people at first. Across three trials where adults ate half a cup of beans a day for 8 to 12 weeks, under 50% reported more flatulence from pinto or baked beans in the first week, against 3 to 11% on control diets, all by self-report. One case series describes 7 children with widespread allergic contact dermatitis linked to balsam of Peru whose skin cleared by 60 to 80% on a diet low in ketchup. That applies only to that allergy. We have no card on pregnancy or medicines for these foods.

Sources

1. hnzb-daily-r8-01 · Food composition data
   Ketchup (FNDDS 74401010, fdc_id 2709733): 1 tablespoon 17 g 18.5 KCAL, total sugars 3.7 G, sodium 157.8 MG; Ketchup, reduced sodium (FNDDS 74401110, fdc_id 2709734): 1 tablespoon 17 g 17.2 KCAL, total sugars 3.6 G, sodium 3.4 MG
   USDA FNDDS, Ketchup fdc_id 2709733 and Ketchup, reduced sodium fdc_id 2709734 · checked 2026-09-30
2. hnzb-daily-r8-02 · Food composition data
   Baked beans (fdc_id 2707390): 1 cup 260 g sodium 1016.6 MG; Baked beans, vegetarian (2707391): 1 cup 260 g 891.8 MG; Baked beans, reduced sodium (2707410): 1 cup 260 g 702.0 MG
   USDA FNDDS, Baked beans fdc_id 2707390, vegetarian 2707391, reduced sodium 2707410 · checked 2026-09-30
3. hnzb-daily-r8-03 · Food composition data
   Tomato juice, 100% (fdc_id 2709728): Sodium, Na 236 MG per 100 g; Quantity not specified 248 g 585.3 MG. Tomato juice, 100%, low sodium (fdc_id 2709729): Sodium, Na 58 MG per 100 g; Quantity not specified 248 g 143.8 MG
   USDA FNDDS, Tomato juice 100% fdc_id 2709728 and low sodium fdc_id 2709729 · checked 2026-09-30
4. hnzb-daily-r8-05 · Randomized crossover trial
   LYC bioavailability was diminished by 83 % following the addition of Ca in the test meal.
   Br J Nutr, 2016 · checked 2026-09-30
5. hnzb-daily-r8-04 · Controlled clinical trial
   Homogenization enhanced the lycopene response significantly (P<0.05) both in TRL [mean areas under the curves: 54.9, 72.0 and 88.7 nmol. h/L (SE 11.0) for not, mildly and severely homogenized tomatoes, respectively] and in plasma [mean changes: 0.19, 0.22 and 0.23 micromol/L (SE 0.009), respectively].
   J Nutr, 2000 · checked 2026-09-30
6. hnzb-daily-r8-06 · Randomized crossover trial
   By day 15, tomato supplementation resulted in an increase in FMD by 3.3% ± 1.4%, whereas at the control arm, FMD declined by -0.5% ± 0.6% (P = .03); magnitudes of change are absolute FMD values.
   Nutr Res, 2012 · checked 2026-09-30
7. hnzb-daily-r8-07 · Randomized crossover trial
   Circulating lycopene concentration increased only after consumption of red tomato paste and purified lycopene. Lipid profile, antioxidant status, prostate-specific antigen, and insulin-like growth factor I were not modified by consumption of tomato pastes and lycopene.
   Am J Clin Nutr, 2010 · checked 2026-09-30
8. hnzb-daily-r8-08 · Randomized trials, secondary analysis
   Less than 50% reported increased flatulence from eating pinto or baked beans during the first week of each trial, but only 19% had a flatulence increase with black-eyed peas. A small percentage (3-11%) reported increased flatulence across the three studies even on control diets without flatulence-producing components.
   Nutr J, 2011 · checked 2026-09-30
9. hnzb-daily-r8-09 · Randomized crossover trial
   ACV did not significantly change 24-h urinary parameters. Coconut water (+ 273.8 mg/24 h, 95% CI 67.9-480 mg/24 h) and lemon water (+ 167.7 mg/24 h, 95% CI 16-319 mg/24 h) were associated with increased urinary citrate.
   Int Urol Nephrol, 2026 · checked 2026-09-30
10. hnzb-daily-r8-10 · Claims register
    POL-HC-6626 Apple cider vinegar Helps control and normalize body weight. Non-authorised
    EU Register on nutrition and health claims, claim POL-HC-6626, snapshot 2026-09-21 · checked 2026-09-30
11. hnzb-daily-r8-11 · Case series
    We present seven children with widespread, recalcitrant dermatitis who experienced 60-80% clearance after initiating a diet low in balsam of Peru, specifically the tomato product ketchup.
    Pediatr Dermatol, 2013 · checked 2026-09-30